For many years Bernard of Chartres seemed the Socrates of the twelfth century--famous for the profound impression he made upon renowned students such as Gilbert of Poitiers and William of Conches but not known as an author in his own right. Bernard has been considered by some the creator of the intellectual character of the so-called school of Chartres in the twelfth century, especially of its humanist drive to bring poetry, the Latin classics, and Platonic philosophy to bear on the Christian theme of the creation of the universe. The great English humanist John of Salisbury could hardly contain his praise of the master of Chartres, whom he had never met: he called Bernard the most deeply learned man in all of Gaul and the most accomplished Platonist of the twelfth century. Almost the whole of Bernard's considerable reputation as a seminal teacher and Platonic philosopher of the...